National Library holds ‘World Book and Copyright Day’ lecture
DPI Guyana, April 23, 2018
Academic integrity is more important than ever before. It is imperative that secondary school students, aspiring to higher levels of education, understand the importance of the originality of work and recognise the seriousness of plagiarism and copyright infringement.
This was the message echoed by the various presenters at today’s lecture held at the National Library in recognition of World Book and Copyright Day. The event saw students from several secondary schools around Georgetown in attendance.
The annual observation of World Book and Copyright Day seeks to promote the enjoyment of books and reading.
Teni Housty, Intellectual Property Law Lecturer at the University of Guyana, noted that the concept of Copyright in Guyana is over 100 years old.
“The law says that every original work will gain some recognition and protection. One of the things that you, therefore, must not do is plagiarise. There must be some sufficiency of application of skill and labour on your part to produce a work that is recognised by copyright.”
Housty noted that copyright allows the creator/author to gain academic recognition and can also make way for financial gain.
Clyden Harris, Librarian at the University of Guyana, spoke on the importance of attributing unoriginal work to the original author(s) to maintain academic integrity. She explained that her expectation is that at the end of the lecture the students would have a better ethical awareness of issues in academic integrity and an understanding of the knowledge and skills required to demonstrate academic integrity.
“Academic integrity is showing honesty and responsibility in your approach to studies and later in your professional pursuit. It encompasses…being original in your work, appropriately acknowledging the use of other’s ideas developing good judgement about the idea you choose to use,” Harris said.
World Book and Copyright Day is a yearly event on April 23rd, organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), to promote reading, publishing, and copyright. World Book Day was celebrated for the first time internationally on 23 April 1995.
By: Nateshia Isaacs